


Thanks For The Tea

by UAs_Fics



Category: South Park
Genre: Goth!Stan, M/M, One-Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-26
Updated: 2018-09-26
Packaged: 2019-07-17 21:18:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,302
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16103984
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UAs_Fics/pseuds/UAs_Fics
Summary: Kenny goes to try and cheer up the cute goth boy sulking in the corner booth.





	Thanks For The Tea

 

* * *

* * *

 

The boy had sat in the corner booth of the restaurant for about an hour. In all that time, he had gotten up only once to grab some crab rangoon from the buffet. When he sulked by Kenny, he heard him mutter about how he couldn't believe City Wok didn't serve coffee past noon.

Kenny rested against his mop, trying not to stare at the other boy. He knew him from school, but for the life of him couldn't remember his name. Something with an S, or maybe an M. He had a short name, too. Sam or Mark or Steven, maybe.

The mystery boy pulled apart the fried dough wrapping of his crab rangoon. He tentatively stabbed at the cream cheese, the white a stark contrast to his black nails. Now that Kenny thought about it, everything about him seemed out of place to be at a cheap Chinese restaurant.

Black eyeliner, black lipstick, black shirt, even a black stocking cap. Everything but his skin looked like it had been dumped into a pot of ink. He looked like someone who should be sipping coffee at the Denny's outside of town, not forcing down crab rangoon at City Wok.

_He's a goth_ , Kenny remembered abruptly. That explained all the black and the sulking, at least, but Kenny couldn't help but wonder why he was here by himself. As much as the goths like to preach about not being ‘a puppet to the clique machine of society,’ they tended to stick around each other. Seeing one of them alone without an obvious reason was a rarity. Usually, when a goth got dragged into City Wok, they were with their families.

"What some tea?" A voice took him from his thoughts. Kenny turned to see one of his coworkers standing beside him, a tray in her hands.

 "What?" Kenny blinked, hoping she hadn't noticed him staring.

"Tea." She repeated, holding the tray closer. "Table four didn't know hot green tea costs extra and sent it back." A small, metal teapot and two white mugs sat on the tray. Steam wafted up from the spout.

Kenny wrinkled his nose up at the offer. He'd tasted that tea before. It was bitter, and he could only stomach it after five sugar packs had been dumped in the cup. His coworker shrugged at his reaction, about to take the tea to the back, when an idea hit Kenny. He grabbed the tray from her hands.

"Actually, I changed my mind." He told her, carefully kicking his mop bucket behind a fake plant. "Tell Mr. Kim I'm taking my last break." Before she could reply, Kenny walked off.

He took a breath as he neared the goth boy's table. The goth looked up at him, and Kenny stiffen, feeling a blush start to creep up his cheeks. Everything about the goth monochrome black and white, except for his sapphire blue eyes.

Those eyes bore into Kenny before he snapped in that distinct goth drawl, "Can I help you?"

Kenny swallowed his embarrassment before setting the tray down. "I, uh, I heard you, earlier, say you wish we served coffee. It's not coffee, but it's like it. Bitter, hot water, but green not brown..."

He wanted to kick himself. He sounded like a total doofus. 'But green, not brown'? What was he even trying to say?

The goth eyed him critically before reaching for the handle of the teapot. He touched it then froze.

"Am I going to be charged for this?"

"Oh, no, no, no! It's on the house, from--it's on the house." He caught himself. The last thing he wanted was this, admittedly cute, goth boy thinking Kenny was trying to flirt with him or anything. He wasn't going to make any advances until he was sure he was available.

The goth nodded and poured the green tea into the coffee mug. Mr. Kim claimed he did have more traditional cups for the hot tea at one point, but over time they had all been lost or broken, and he didn’t bother to replace them.

The goth took a drink before his face twisted in disgust. "Wow. Bitter, hot water, like you said."

"Sorry, I can get you some extra sugar if you want." Kenny offered, trying not to glance at the sugar packets already on the table next to the soy sauce. He couldn't afford to look like any more of a dingus.

"No." The goth took another drink. "It's like my soul, only not as dark and tormented."

Kenny laughed, but quickly covered it with a cough when the goth fixed him with a puzzled look. He rested his hand on the table.

"So, I think we're in the same grade. I know I've seen you before. What's your name? I'm Kenny." He smiled with as much friendliness as he could put into it.

The goth sipped before replying, "Raven."

'Raven.' So Kenny had been way off in his name guesses.

"That's a cool name, dude." Kenny complimented. Raven didn't reply, instead he shrugged.

They lapsed into silence after a few heartbeats. As they did, Kenny couldn't help but admire him. Normally, he avoided the dark and broody types for more upbeat people, but something about Raven made him put his predisposition aside. Raven was cute, had a strong jaw, a nice face. Now that he was close enough, Kenny could tell Raven's skin wasn't natural that pale. Instead he wore a very light foundation. Accented with the dark eyeliner and lipstick, he looked almost ghostly.

"--here?"

"What?" Kenny blinked.

"I said, how long are you going to stand here?" Raven asked irritably. "Don't you have orders to take or something?"

"Naaaah," Kenny chuckled. "No waiting for me. I'm on my break for the next couple of minutes." Raven opened his mouth, but Kenny quickly went on before he could shoo him away. "What are you doing here by yourself? Where are your friends?"

Raven scowled into his tea. "I don't have friends. I walk this mortal coil as alone as when I was born."

A flirt about taking some of that loneliness away pressed against Kenny's teeth, and it took everything he had not to let it slip out.

"Oh, that sucks." Kenny said instead. "I hate being alone. I used to keep all sorts of strays as pets when I was little, so I'd always have someone around. It was all going great, until Mom found the baby raccoons I kept in my closet."

Some of the irritation in Raven's face lefts, and he perked up with something almost like a smile on his lips.

"I have a dog." He admitted, some of the goth drawl slipping from his voice.

"A dog? I love dogs! How old is he? What breed?" Kenny asked, though he didn't care much about the information. Mostly, he just wanted to see if he could get Raven to actually smile. Oh, his smile must be cute. Kenny found himself willing to say anything to see it.

"He'll be seven this year. The person we got him from said he's part doberman and part rottweiler." A grin spread across Raven's face as he spoke. As Kenny had predicted, it was super cute. "Sparky's a big slobbery mutt. If he knows you'll feed him under the table, he'll set his head in your lap while you eat and--" Raven froze, cutting himself off. His smile slipped from his face.

He continued, his goth drawl back in full force, "I mean, he's a great dog, as far as companions to march towards the black void of de--" He groaned, dropping his head into his hands. "I can't do this."

"Dude?" Kenny asked with a frown. "Are you ok?"

"I can't do this." Raven repeated. He peeked up at Kenny with those sapphire eyes. A shudder ran down his back. With a sigh, he asked, "What do you do, if you're not who you want to be?"

Before Kenny could answer, Mr. Kim called him from the front. There was a spill near the bathrooms. He swore he had longer before his break was over. Or maybe he didn't. It was easy to lose track of time while admiring someone. He knew that from experience.

"I gotta go." He told Raven. "If you want to keep talking, I get off in another hour and a half. Um, meet me outside."

Raven's face remained emotionless. He didn't respond, instead turning his attention back down to his tea. Kenny sighed inwardly, heading back to where he hid his mop bucket. When he wheeled it from behind the plant, he looked over his shoulder towards Raven's booth.

It was empty.

Kenny spent the next hour and a half in a disappointed daze. This was probably the only opportunity he would ever have to talk to Raven without the rest of the goths throwing judging looks his way. Kenny didn't need anymore judging looks than he already got normally for his ratty appearance.

He hung his apron up on the nail in the back before reaching for his backpack. He pulled his pack of cigarettes from the front pocket as he stepped out the back door of the restaurant. Flipping open the pack, Kenny was greeted with even more disappointment. His pack was empty. Empty just like the back booth.

With a swear, he crumbled it up and tossed it into the dumpster. In all likelihood, his brother had probably stolen the last few from him. Not that Kenny could complain and demand them back since Kevin had been the one to buy the pack for him in the first place.

Great, this day couldn't get any worse. He couldn't wait to sulk home. Maybe he'd drop by Kyley-B's house on the way home, instead, see if he could use his puppy-dog eyes to garner sympathy, and maybe some free food, from Mrs. Broflovski.

"Hey, um, Kenny, right?"

Kenny jumped, spinning around. From beside the fence dividing City Wok from the sushi house next to it, Raven pushed himself up.

"Oh, yeah! Raven, you're..." Kenny trailed off, trying to keep himself from becoming tongue-tied. He took a breath before continuing, "you still want to talk?"

"Yeah, I mean, sure, whatever. Not like I have anything better to do." Raven's shoulders slumped forward. The action sent some of his hair into his face. It didn't look like that unnatural black that some of the other goths had. Kenny didn't think it was dyed.

"Awesome." Kenny flashed a crooked grin.

"Alright," Raven nodded. "Follow me. I don't want to talk here. The smell is giving me a headache."

As they started to leave the alley, Raven took a turn to the left and went down the road towards Skeeter's Bar. Kenny raised an eyebrow and followed behind him. As they passed the bar, he glanced through the front window.

He let out a sigh of relief when he didn't see his dad inside. More times than he cared to admit, he had to drag his dad off the bar stool on his mom's orders. Once he started working at City Wok, the orders to do so only increased. Leading his belligerent dad through the streets sure didn’t help with the judging looks, either.

Pushing the thoughts from his mind, he jogged back up towards Raven.

"The woods?" Kenny asked as they stepped over a large fallen tree branch in the path. "You're not an axe murderer, are you? I mean, just in case I need to pretend to be a virgin or something." For the briefest second, Raven smiled at Kenny's joke.

"No. It's private here." He paused at the crossroads up to the old Mephesto Labs before jumped up to sit on the wooden fence. Kenny leaned against the map signpost, putting his hands in his pockets.

He pursed his lips a moment, going over his thoughts. Once he collected himself, he said, "Back at City Wok, what did you mean when you asked if I knew what to do when you don't like who you are."

Raven glanced to the side. He opened his mouth once, shut it, opened it again, before shaking his head. "No, you know what? This is stupid. Never mind. Forget you even saw me."

"Wait! No, dude!" Kenny put a hand reflexively on his arm. "It's fine. I've got nowhere to be, and if you're worried about me judging you, I won't. Promise." Their eyes met and Kenny prayed his sincerity shone through.

Raven pursed his lips then sighed. He slipped completely off the fence but didn't walk away, instead leaning against it.

"'What do you do, if you aren't who you want to be,' is what I asked." Raven shut his eyes. "What am I to you? You don't know me, but what do you see me as?"

"Cute?" Kenny blurted out. He blushed and took a step back, suddenly remembering his hand was still on Raven's arm. "I mean, shit, goth! Goth! I see you as a goth."

The wry smile that appeared when Kenny called him 'cute' faded when he answered 'goth'.

He looked down at his hands. "I became a goth in third grade. Before that, I was just another conformist running the rat race, trying to stay popular and well liked." He laughed, but it was cold. "I was on the football team. Star quarterback, actually. Or as 'star' as an eight-year-old can be."

"Really?" Kenny questioned, astonished that a goth would ever be on a sports team, let alone an MVP.

Raven nodded. "Yeah, but once I became a goth, I dropped the team. It made my uncle and dad cry. I couldn't be the preppy, happy-ass _jock_ they wanted me to be." He spat the word 'jock' like it was a swear.

Kenny hummed. "I sit with one of the basketball players at lunch. Kyley-B? The kid from New Jersey? And he isn't what I would call 'preppy'."

Kyley-B was pretty far from a traditional 'preppy, happy-ass jock' as Kenny could fathom. He was loud, easy to anger, used odd combinations of words that Kenny was ninety percent sure were insults. If not for his athletic skill, he probably would have been kicked from the team years ago.

Raven's face scrunched up. "I know not all jocks are preps. I'm not stupid." He shook his head, slumping farther down until he sat on the cold earth. "What I'm saying is this. I gave up being what _my family_ thought I should be, to be what _I_ thought I should be. Now, though, I'm not sure if this _is_ what I really want."

Kenny frowned, crouching down next to him. "What? You don't want to be a goth anymore?"

A half shrug. "I dunno. Yes? No? I just...don't know. I like my friends. Henrietta, Michael, Pete, Frickle, and I go way back. They've been there for me. I can't just leave them," He rolled his head back, "but I don't want this anymore. I want to wear colors again, not just black. I want to play sports for fun, not just for a passing PE grade. I know it sounds hypocritically coming from  me, but I _want_ to be a conformist again."

Kenny pursed his lips in thought. After a moment, he said, "Will that make you happy?"

"What?" Raven asked, brows furrowed.

"Will that make you happy? Will branching out and trying to be something else make you happy?" Kenny tilted his head. "You know it's not a bad thing to go through phases. Everyone does. I went through a superhero phase that lasted for two years. Looking back it was pretty embarrassing that I ran around with underwear outside my pants, but, I got it out of my system.  Maybe being goth was your phase. Maybe being a 'conformist' will be a phase. Either way, you gotta do what makes you happy, so I say branch out. Find yourself. Be who you want to be."

He smiled brightly, trying to cover the fact that among his corny advice he had actually mentioned his Mysterion phase. Only he and Butters ever talked about those times, and that was almost always to laugh at themselves.

Raven fixed him with a stare for a long moment. It felt like burning on Kenny's skin, but he couldn't really say he completely disliked the feeling. Raven's gaze wasn't judging, not completely and not in a cruel way like when other people judged him, anyway. It was like Raven was trying to figure Kenny out.

Finally, Raven looked away.

"I always figured you were just another conformist poser, saving face and shit," Raven said, "but, you're actually not terrible."

"I'm not to terrible at<i> _a lot_  of things." Kenny winked, unable to hold back the flirts he'd been fighting off since setting eyes on Raven's cute face. He winced internally, hoping beyond hope Raven would take his comment as a joke.

A blush flared up on Raven's cheeks as he scrambled to stand. "I need to go home. I have a lot to think about." He let out a breath through his nose then turned, holding his hand out. "Thank you. You have...a comforting aura. I'm glad I talked to you. Please, don't tell anyone about this--not that I care what anyone thinks or anything. I just don't want any of this getting to the other goths before I've made my choice."

Kenny let Raven haul him to his feet. "You're welcome, thank you, and you have my word. I won't tell a soul."

Raven seemed to believe that. He bobbed his head before turning and heading off down the path deeper into the forest. Kenny watched him disappear among the dense pine trees before looking down at his hand, the one Raven had held.

He touched his palm with his fingertips. Even if they never spoke again, he hoped Raven would do what made him happy and he was glad if he could help with that.

* * *

"And then I says, I says to him 'are you talking bad about my brother? No one talks bad about my brother but me!'" Kyley-B slapped his fist against the table, causing the lunch trays to shudder. Butters scooted down the bench to avoid being hit by Kyley-B's waving arms. Kenny unconsciously leaned back, though, from his seat across the table, he was out of slapping range.

Kyley-B made a punching motion in front of him. "So I knock the air out of the bastard, and I show him you don't mess with someone from Je--"

"Um, excuse me?"

The three at the table looked up, Butters peaking around Kyley-B to be able to see.

The boy wore a brown jacket and blue hat, both accented with bright red. Unstyled, black hair stuck out from under the knit hat. For a moment, Kenny didn't recognize him, until he met the boy's sapphire colored eyes. He blinked once.

"Raven?" He asked.

"It's, um, it's Stan, actually. Stan Marsh." He corrected.

Realization washed over Kenny. That's right. He remembered now. Stan had insisted everyone call him 'Raven' starting back in third grade, even had his name changed on the class lists. Once middle school came around and everyone went to different classes, Kenny didn't see much of Stan and his memory of him faded.

"Oh, hey! Hey, dude! What's up? How are things?" Kenny grinned. It was manic, but he didn't care at that point.

Stan didn't wear the same monochromatic makeup as before. The makeup he had on now didn't quite match his natural skin tone perfectly, but it made his face look much warmer than before. He looked even cuter than before.

Stan bit his lip a moment before taking a calming breath. "Kenny, I wanted to talk to you, in the hall." He glanced at Kyley-B and Butters. "If you're not busy."

"Nope!" Kenny jumped out of his seat. Kyley-B gave Kenny a knowing look before rolling his eyes. He spun in his seat so he was directly facing Butters and continued on with his story.

Stan nodded nervously to Kenny, before walking out of the cafeteria. He lead them to the library but stopped before heading inside. Instead, he turned and stepped into the small alcove in the wall, pressing himself between the water fountain and the corner.

Kenny rocked on his heels a moment before asking, "Is everything alright? I see you've got some color going on."

Stan shrugged. "Yeah, thanks, I mean--no, yeah that's what I mean. Thanks, thank you." He took his hat off to run his hand through his hair. "Thank you, our talk really helped."

"Did it? I'm glad!" Kenny said. "I guess that means you decided to rejoin the rat race?"

Stan chuckled. "Yeah, for now, at least. I talked to my friends on Sunday, and, honestly, they all knew it was coming."

"Seriously?" Kenny wasn't sure if he should laugh or not, so he cracked a somewhat sympathetic, half-smile instead.

"Michael said he was surprised I didn't 'go back to being an 'acceptance-hungry poser' years ago. None of them thought I would keep being Goth up for as long as I did." Stan's smile wavered. He said, "They said I can still hang out with them if I want, but that feels, I don't know, _othering_ , I guess, if I'm not a goth anymore."

Kenny cocked his head to the side. "Do you want to hang with me and my friends for a while? Butters is a sweetheart and super friendly, and I swear Kyley-B isn't nearly as bad as he seems."

Stan looked taken back for a moment. He opened his mouth to reply when his hip pressed against the side of the water fountain, causing it to turn on. He jumped back, face red.

Kenny gently put a hand on his arm. "We're playing basketball after school. You can join us if you want."

"I, uh, really? Would that be ok?"

"Sure!" Kenny squeezed his arm. "It's always just Butters and me against Kyley-B. Maybe with three of us, we might actually win a game."

Apprehension clouded Stan's features for a moment before he smiled, that same genuine smile like when he was talking about his dog, and Kenny felt his heart do a backflip.

"That would be cool. Thanks."

"Uh, yeah, t-t-totally, anytime!" Kenny stammered. He coughed into his hand and stepped back. "Actually, um, can I ask you a question? Why did you want to talk to me--not now, but before at City Wok."

Stan fixed him with a similar as when he tried to puzzle Kenny out, then shrugged. "I told you, you have a comforting aura."

"'Aura'?"

"Yeah, Henrietta says everyone has an aura, and some people's auras are just better at inviting others in. Yours is like," He pursed his lips a moment, "and don't take offense to this, I mean it in a good way, a dog. It's just friendly like you can talk to you about whatever, ya know?"

Kenny didn't know, but he nodded anyway. Before he could reply, Stan kept talking. "Can I ask you a question now?"

"Sure, shoot."

The tops of Stan's ears turned red as he asked, "Do you really think I'm cute?"

Kenny swore internally as he fumbled for what to do. He could play it off as a joke, but then if he ever did want to ask Stan out, he would have to own up to his lie. He could admit to it and risk Stan being uncomfortable around him. He could--

"Because I think you're kind of cute, too."

Kenny blinked, dumbfounded. "What? Are you--are you asking me on a date or something?"

"Not yet. I think I'd like to be your friend first." Stan replied. He was trying to play it cool, but the blush and his stiff pose gave him away as just as nervous as Kenny.

The bell on the wall rang then, making both of them jump.

As Stan shot a glare at the bell, Kenny swallowed the lump of nerves in his throat. "Shit, dude, yeah that sounds great."  He patted down his pockets before pulling out a crumbled City Wok receipt and a pen. He scribbled down his number before awkwardly handing it to Stan.

"Here, text me or something and I'll tell you when and where we meet up to shoot hoops."

Stan looked at the number before carefully folding it and put it in his jacket pocket. "I will," He stepped forward, out of the alcove and past Kenny. The crowd of people leaving the cafeteria could be heard down the hall.

"My locker is on the other end of the school." Kenny jabbed his thumb over his shoulder. "I need to get going so I'm not late for class."

"Yeah, mine's just up the hall." Stan nodded in the direction of his locker. The crowd of students was upon them then, and Kenny had to duck and dive around students to get into the flow of traffic going his way.

He looked back towards Stan, but he was already swallowed by the crowd.

* * *

As Kenny sat idly in chemistry class, waiting for the destruction that came with being partnered with both Kyley-B and Eric Cartman, he felt his phone buzzed twice in his pocket.

Ignoring the arguing over which chemical should go into the beaker first, Kenny slipped it out. They were texts from a number he'd never seen before.

"Hey, it's Stan," the first text said. "In all my thanking earlier, I forgot to thank you for something. I think I should do that before I forget."

Kenny felt his whole body warm in delight as he read the next text.

"Thanks for the tea. <3"

**Author's Note:**

> This has been sitting in my drafts for a few months now >>, but now I can say I finally did something with Goth!Stan and City Wok!Kenny. 
> 
> [ My writing tumblr](https://uas-fics.tumblr.com/) ~ [ My general art tumblr](https://uas-art.tumblr.com/)


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